Service Improvement Initiative at NSERC

In May 2000, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) approved the Service Improvement Initiative (SII), under Government On-line (GOL) governance, committing departments and agencies to improving client satisfaction with their direct service delivery to Canadians. The SII is designed to achieve significant, measurable, and sustainable improvement in client satisfaction with services provided by federal departments and agencies.

The SII has set a minimum target of a ten per cent improvement in client satisfaction by 2005 and requires departments and agencies to plan for continuous improvement, set baselines and targets for client satisfaction, determine and publish service standards by delivery channel, and report on progress in the annual Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) and Department Performance Reports (DPRs).

The SII applies to NSERC, and the Council was required to:

• identify direct-client services as established by GOL;
• adopt the Common Measurements Tool (CMT) and implement client satisfaction surveys to establish satisfaction baselines and monitor progress;
• set and publish service standards as well as client satisfaction results; and
• report on progress formally through the RPP/DPR process and directly to clients through Web sites and other appropriate means.

NSERC is to report on four key elements of its service delivery performance:

1. programs and business lines covered by a service improvement plan;
2. main achievements in improving service from a citizen-centred approach;
3. annual improvements in client satisfaction and progress towards satisfaction;
4. service standards for all key public services and performance against standards.

All divisions of NSERC are involved in the SII and, to date, considerable progress has been made by the Council to meet these objectives in compliance with the TBS directive.

For additional information about the SII, visit the  TBS Web site.